The Justice Department says Muhammad Shahzeb Khan, a Pakistani national also known as “Shahzeb Jadoon,” pleaded guilty to plotting an ISIS-inspired mass shooting at a Jewish center in Brooklyn, having coordinated with undercover officers, attempted to enter the United States via a human smuggler, and now faces federal prosecution with a life sentence possible and sentencing set for August 12, 2026.
The Department of Justice announced that 21-year-old Muhammad Shahzeb Khan pleaded guilty to one count of attempting to commit acts of terrorism transcending national boundaries. The charge carries a maximum penalty of life in prison, and Khan is scheduled to be sentenced on Aug. 12, 2026. Prosecutors say Khan was living in Canada when he began actively supporting ISIS and planning attacks aimed at the United States.
Court filings indicate Khan started posting ISIS propaganda and communicating online in or about November 2023, sharing videos and literature and recruiting others to his plans. Investigators say he soon began planning specific attacks in the U.S. and communicated those plans to two people who were, unbeknownst to him, undercover officers. Khan repeatedly instructed the undercover officers to obtain AR-style assault rifles, ammunition, and additional materials to carry out his scheme.
Early planning targeted “Israeli Jewish chabads . . . scattered all around [city-1],” according to documents, and Khan identified locations where attacks would take place. The filings say Khan told the undercover officers he had identified a human smuggler who would help him cross from Canada into the United States for the operation. Around August 2024, Khan shifted the target to a prominent Jewish religious center in Brooklyn and set the attack window for the October 7 anniversary.
“Khan planned a mass shooting at a Jewish center in New York City, timed to coincide with the anniversary of the October 7th Hamas attacks, with the explicit goal of killing as many Jews as possible,” said Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg. That statement underscores the federal view that the plot was ideological and aimed at mass casualties tied to a symbolic date.
U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton for the Southern District of New York said investigators disrupted the plot before Khan reached the United States. “Muhammad Khan planned to carry out a horrendous attack on a venerated Jewish center in New York City in support of ISIS,” said U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton for the Southern District of New York. The office highlighted cooperation among federal, state, and local partners that led to the case reaching this guilty plea.
The record includes chilling direct statements attributed to Khan during communications with the undercover officers. “Khan told the UCs that “New york is perfect to target jews” because it has the “largest Jewish population in america,” and, as such, “even if we dont attack a[n] Event[,] we could rack up easily a lot of jews.” Khan told the UCs that “we are going to nyc to slaughter them,” and later sent a photograph to the UCs of the specific enclosed area inside of Location-1 where Khan planned to carry out his attack. In the days that followed, Khan continued to urge the UCs to acquire AR-style rifles, hunting knives to “slit their throats,” and other equipment for the attack, and reiterated his desire to carry out this attack in support of ISIS. During one such communication, Khan noted that “if we succeed with our plan this would be the largest Attack on US soil since 9/11.”
Officials say the FBI’s Counterterrorism Division and local partners intercepted Khan before he could act. “Khan planned to illegally enter the United States and conduct an ISIS-inspired attack on the Jewish community around the one-year anniversary of the attacks in Israel by Hamas,” said Acting Assistant Director Coult Markovsky of the FBI’s Counterterrorism Division. The bureau credited undercover operations and international coordination for stopping the plot.
On or about Sept. 4, 2024, Khan allegedly attempted to reach the U.S.-Canada border using the human smuggler he had identified, traveling from near Toronto toward the United States. He was arrested in or around Ormstown, Canada, approximately 12 miles from the U.S.-Canada border. “Muhammad Khan targeted a prominent Jewish religious center in Brooklyn to honor the October 7th anniversary by attempting to conduct what he hoped would be the largest terrorist attack on US soil since 9/11,” said Assistant Director in Charge James C. Barnacle Jr. of the FBI New York Field Office.
Law enforcement officials thanked the New York Joint Terrorism Task Force and numerous agencies for their roles in the investigation, noting work by FBI field offices, state police, customs and border protection, and international partners in Canada. The Office of International Affairs and Canadian authorities assisted in securing Khan’s arrest and his June 2025 extradition to the United States, according to prosecutors. The case will be prosecuted by the Southern District of New York’s National Security and International Narcotics Unit.
Prosecutors say the potential maximum penalty is set by Congress and that any sentence will be determined by a judge. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kaylan E. Lasky and David J. Robles are leading the prosecution for the Southern District of New York, with assistance from Trial Attorney Kevin Nunnally of the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section. The proceedings now move toward the scheduled sentencing in August 2026 under federal law.
